Is this enough to retire on?

[zippitydooda]

Name changed.

Hating my job. Stressful but grateful I'm working. I can retire early age 60 in 2026 on an annual pension of 25k. I'm mortgage free and have 100k savings.

Doesn't feel like a lot for a lifetime working but I so need to stop as I'm just so worn out.

Do you think this is enough to retire on given that I may never earn again? Would it be enough for you?

No partner and my DD is grown up and working so ok.

@HappeBee

i'd hardly think 25k p.a. pension is "living modestly" but that's just me. I'd think it's pretty luxurious if mortgage free It's equivalent to a private pension pot of £650k pension at today's annuity rate. With no partner and grown up DD you'd still have enough to save even after holidays and eating out etc State pension kicks in at 66 so another 9k a year assuming you having the qualifying years You could also take a lower stress job, go part-time etc

State pension is 9k? Wow.

Don't apologise for having concerns, op. Of course you're feeling cautious. Just make the decision that's best for you. You're clearly a sensible person, so I'm sure you'll make the right one.

Yes it is.
If it helps do the sums on a spreadsheet or a piece of paper and see how that looks but you've managed to raise a child and pay off a mortgage independently so you are probably better qualified to answer that question than a lot of us on here, me included.

If you want extra treats you do have other options.

You could earn some pocket money elsewhere perhaps on an ad hoc basis? eBay, casual work, lodgers could be an option.

Can you go part time for a few years and taper off or can you not work once you have taken your pension?

I dream of what I would do if I retired early. So far I've decided on doing extreme couponing and entering every free competition there is.

Perhaps a consultation with a financial advisor would help to answer any questions you might have.

@CommanderBurnham

Yes it is. If it helps do the sums on a spreadsheet or a piece of paper and see how that looks but you've managed to raise a child and pay off a mortgage independently so you are probably better qualified to answer that question than a lot of us on here, me included.

If you want extra treats you do have other options.

You could earn some pocket money elsewhere perhaps on an ad hoc basis? eBay, casual work, lodgers could be an option.

Can you go part time for a few years and taper off or can you not work once you have taken your pension?

I dream of what I would do if I retired early. So far I've decided on doing extreme couponing and entering every free competition there is.

Oddly enough, I quite the thought of running a weekend market stall. Not a clue what I'd sell but even if I made £60 that would be great.

Most of the answers you are getting on here are very, very skewed.

How can anyone not think that is plenty ?

That is the average wage isn't it ? For people supporting families - paying rent or a mortgage, paying for childcare, feeding several people, clothing growing dc. How can anyone think a person can't live on £480 per week ?????

Try looking up what a single person on Universal credit gets to live on.

@Aquamarine1029

Perhaps a consultation with a financial advisor would help to answer any questions you might have.

Yes. I've put some feelers out but thought the mighty minds of mumsnet would be a start

www.gov.uk/new-state-pension/what-youll-get

Thing is you will be able to afford decent holidays (okay depending on how the travel industry recovers), flights when there's a sale, you'll be able to go on the least expensive dates, and have more frugal months inbetween.

Okay you might not be doing a round the world cruise with Cunard in a state cabin.

If you are plagued by ill health do it, you will find a way.

Make no apologies for what you have worked for and achieved, we all have different comfort zones that is yours.

Ignore people saying, hell yeah you should be able to, because once I see that I channel Monty Python and the hole in the road sketch.

DH and I made decisions and sacrifices down the years, my DB used to live high off the hog of the land two holidays a year meals out bi weekly, we went without for about ten years, all of a sudden my DB doesn't think we are quite so boring, well he probably does think we are boring, but he doesn't use the word grown up as an semi insult anymore.

Wow. I’d be rubbing my hands together with glee if I knew that’s what I could retire on. You have 100k in the bank and a guaranteed 25k a year, I’m really not seeing what there is to be worried about. Nobody of the millennial generation will ever get a pension anywhere near that.

@FrogFairy

I think that is plenty.

I am a similar age and had a cunning plan to retire early on an income of around £10k which is similar to my current salary. Happy to live a simple and frugal life but gutted to say it looks like my plan has gone to shit.

Hope your cunning plan can still work out.

You do get to a certain point when you've just had enough.

I've worked non stop since I was 14. Never been unemployed, minimum maternity leave etc. The thought of just stopping is magical.

It should be plenty with no mortgage to pay. Enjoy your retirement!

Thank you everyone for the replies.

Just five more years.

Sounds good to me, OP. You can still enjoy life, living fairly modestly, provided you're not planning on cruising around the world etc. (That said, world cruises can be quite a cheap way to visit lots of long haul destinations in one trip - so as a one off it's not a bad way to kick off your retirement, once Covid is over.)

You could always do some sort of equity release on your property, if things get tough in latter years.

Sounds like focusing on early retirement might help you to get through a few more years in your job. You don't need anyone else's approval, once you're happy with your decision just go for it.

I’d live comfortably off that. I earn less and pay my mortgage too. I live in a cheap area but can still save and spend.

It's loads in my opinion - more than I earn. Plus you get another 9k in 6/7 years time.

You could retire from your career job but no reason why you can't try to find a part time job couple of days a week to top it up?

I think you must have been well paid to get that pension. So I guess it's all relative.

I don't know what your job is so it's hard to know how stressful it is?

Hi OP. Ignore the negative posts here, I would anyway

Do it. Live your life the way you want. That’s a decent savings amount, a nice monthly income, retire!

So do what you love, spend time with people who matter, have a happy time. It’s all that matters in the end.

you will have a much higher income than the average UK single pensioner, average in 2017/18 was £213 per week.

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/878355/pensioners-incomes-series-2017-18-report.pdf

Keeping the lump sum up with inflation may not be easy but presume your main pension is index-linked?

If you were contracted out for a while then you need to check if you will not get the full state pension.

£25k a year for seven years until your state pension kicks in is perfectly doable if you own your home outright. When your state pension kicks in you'll be laughing. You can always take a part-time job or a lodger and use the money from that to fund travel and extras.

My sister retired early from teaching and after the first year or two started doing gardening to earn a little extra. She now runs a company doing garden maintenance and landscaping and earns more than she did before.

Not sure what you have your 100k in but you'll want to make sure you've got that money invested so you can grow that pot. I see you still have 5 years so if you max out a SIPP each year you will get 25% added by the government for example.

there's this tool too www.gov.uk/plan-for-retirement

A few posters presuming that people automatically get the full 9k on top of another pension, that's not the case for everyone so important to get your personal forecast based on your own NI contributions

Hi OP, I think you'll be good! No point being miserable when you could be free! :)

I'm no financial expert but could you look into to getting a buy-to-let flat somewhere near you with the £100K? Then you'd still have the money (you could always sell if you needed to access it) but you'd also get a bit more monthly income? Sort of make your money work for you instead of just sitting in the bank.

Just a thought! Either way I'd go for it if I were you, sounds like it's time to live your life

Yes go for it !!

I’m out of work since my maternity ended. We have a 10 month old DD, my partner supports us all, mortgage and all on 23k alone.

I think you’ll be fine but if you think that’s tight then you need to sit down and give yourself a budget for everything.